1. Field
The present invention relates generally to brake drums, and more particularly, to brake drums for heavy-duty vehicles having an external visual indication of whether braking surface diameter is within safe operating limits.
2. Description of the Problem and Related Art
A brake drum's maximum allowable braking surface diameter is the largest diameter that a brake drum's braking surface can be machined, or worn to, and still maintain satisfactory characteristics for safe and expected braking performance. It is a violation of Department of Transportation regulations to use a brake drum whose braking surface diameter exceeds the maximum allowable diameter. At this time, there is not an accurate method of determining whether a brake drum's braking surface diameter has worn to, or exceeded, the maximum allowable diameter while the brake drum is installed on a vehicle. Accordingly, the entire wheel must be removed from the vehicle and the brake drum surface diameter must be measured. It is both time consuming and expensive—not to mention safety issues involved with removing and reinstalling wheel end equipment—to remove a brake drum from an axle to determine whether or not a brake drum has worn to the point that the braking surface diameter exceeds the maximum allowable diameter. This can lead to brake drums being discarded and replaced sooner than needed, or it can lead to brake drums remaining in service after the braking surface diameter exceeds the maximum allowable diameter.
With reference to FIGS. 6 and 6A of the drawings, a prior art technique to permit visual inspection of brake surface diameter has used a notch 30 machined circumferentially around the braking surface at the lip of the drum for wear indication. This method, however, may provide misread inspections because of uneven wear of the brake linings and drum. A step is worn into the lining near the lip of the drum. This uneven wear leads to inaccurate evaluations of both lining wear and brake drum wear, leading to either early removal of a good brake drum, or worse, non-removal of a bad brake drum.